The Spirit of ignorance
The greatest problem today, is that a lot of people do not know what to do with their lives. There is a great level of spiritual ignorance among people generally all over the world. People go through the world, as it was, with their eyes blinded by the devil.
More than any other thing, you need the opening of your heart, the brightening of your vision, the enlightening of the eyes of your understanding, and the activation of your senses, if you must go through this world, as a victorious man or woman.
Spiritual ignorance is the bane of this age. Many do not know the purpose of their existence on earth. A lot of people are at sea as regards to what is happening in their lives. They have no purpose in life. They grope in broad daylight like blind men and women. They do not know where they are going. They don’t know where they are coming from. They don’t even know where they are, at this moment. There is so much movement but a little or no progress. There are lots of actions but no achievement. Thus, many people have been reduced to mere victims of circumstances.
There is no way you can understand what is happening to you right now, unless you have a spiritual understanding. Life will remain a riddle that is completely inexplicable until you are able to discern things from the spiritual standpoint. That is why the Bible had declared: “My people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge.
As human experiences become more traumatized and the situation in the lives of some people has become highly unpredictable as more and more people throw in the towel in the battle of life. A lot of people would surely go from discouragement to despondency. A lot of people would even think of committing suicide because they won’t be able to see any hope in the horizon.
True to Bible prediction, the hearts of men are indeed failing them because of fear. Many people are fed up. That is why we have multiple cases of stroke, hypertension, high blood pressure, mental disorder, and the like. Unfortunately, many people who have been confused by their experiences, have tried the occult, transcendental meditation, yoga, synergetic religion and local charms in order to solve what has become embarrassing problems.
Others have tried to seek refuge at the fake altars of science, philosophy, and psychology. Those who do not know what to do have decided to bury themselves in academics, business, sports and other past-times. Some people got so confused and decided to indulge in drugs. That is why we have many drug addicts, alcoholics, smokers and other despicable elements in the society, Yet, none of these have provided any solution to human problems. Rather, they have compounded the troubles and the travail of mankind.
What then is the solution to human problems today? Is there any way out? If there is no solution to this problem, then mankind is in trouble, The tempo of mankind’s problem has been heightened to a level where a total breakdown is inevitable unless human beings are ready to seek for true solutions to their problems. However, your attitude to the issue of seeking lasting solutions to human problems would go a long way in determinig the kind of solutions which you will get. The beginning of receiving solution to these important questions is to manifest openness to the Lord.
Perhaps what can be regarded as the greatest and the most appropriate commentary on this generation can be found in
Luke 23:34
Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.
This terse statement which came from the lips of the Lord Jesus sums up the condition of the present day world. “They know not what they do.” What a comment! Just as the people who crucified Jesus did not know what they were doing at that time, millions of people, today have no inkling whatsoever concerning what they are doing.
The statement was made to show that the people who crucified Jesus knew nothing about the implication, as well as the impact of the actions which they were taking. They did not know what they were doing before Jesus spoke those words. To make matters worse, they did not know what they were doing after the statement had been made.
Ifyou read that passage, you will discover that they still went ahead to continue their evil actions after such an indictment has been fired against them. It was as if they were saying, “Yes, we do not know what we are doing, we would like to continue that way. We shall take more actions and damn the consequences.” That is how perverted human sensibilities were and still is. People know that what they are doing is wrong, yet they go ahead to continue doing what is wrong.
“They know not what they do.” That was the first among the statements which Jesus made on the cross and that is the beginning of the solution to the problem of man. If you will admit that you really do not know what you are doing then you are on your way out of the woods. But human beings are difficult. It is very difficult for people to admit that they are enmeshed in spiritual ignorance.
Jesus recognized that the problem in the life of man resides in the fact that men and women do not know what they are doing. You must, therefore, recognize and admit your ignorance if you want to find a lasting solution to your problems, be they big or small.
Someone has rightly observed that those who look are many but those who see are few.
That reminds me of an experience which I had several years ago. There was a particular man who used to go round Nigerian primary and secondary schools, in order to reveal the secrets of self-styled magicians. He was popularly called American wonder. It was customary for him to perform the kind of magic which those who call themselves magicians normally perform. Then, he goes ahead to analyze all the steps involved in the magical feats. He would go ahead to debunk all the false claims made by these so-called magicians. It then became obvious to those of us who were young kids at that time that the magicians were only deceiving us.
There was a particular catch phrase which was his trademark “The more you look, the less you see. The less you see, the less you understand and the less you understand, the more foolish you become.” In other words, he was saying that what you are seeking is not exactly what is happening.
The Bible says, “Which none of the princes of this world knew for having they knew it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory”(1 Cor 2:8). In other words, they did not know what they were doing. If you were to appear face to face before the men who crucified Jesus -including the mob who were watching the action -and ask them why they acted in that manner, they will simply tell you that they did not know the reason behind their actions
The deep truth is that, the significance and the consequences of the actions were completely hidden from them. If a person knows God’s purpose for his life, he won’t do what is wrong. Ladies who decide to go into prostitution surely do not know the purpose of their existence on earth. People who live anyhow and all those who abuse their privileges in life do not know what they came into the world to do.
It is sad but true, that there are so many people today who are in the same shoes with people who lived in Jesus’ days. Unfortunately, there are Christians who do not know what they are doing.
God gave a man of God a very instructive revelation. The Lord came to him and said : “Son, I want you to watch the following procedure”. A seventeen-year-old boy walked into God’s judgment hall. God sentenced him to hell. The man of God asked to know why the boy was asked to go to hell. God told him that the boy killed another boy. The father of the boy who was killed became angry and murdered the boy who killed his son. That was how the person who killed someone was also killed. The two boys were sentenced to hell.
As the judgment continued, God also declared that seven other people would also be sent to hell fire. God announced the list of others who would go to hell as a result of the boy’s action. The first person happened to be a woman who sold alcohol in front ofthe boy’s house. That was what he drank and decided to murder his friend. The second person on the list happened to be the boy’s teacher. He was the one who gave the boy a novel based on violence to read. Unknown to those people, their seemingly insignificant actions handed them irrevocable terrible judgment.
The Bible tells us that God weighs our action. None of our actions are excused. What you do has a tremendous impact in your life and on the lives of others. The Bible has clearly stated that woe has been pronounced upon the lives of those who, through their actions, do things that constitute stumbling blocks in the lives of others. That is why we have discovered that the word ‘woe’ has covered or enveloped the entire life of some individual, communities and nations today.
What goes on today, are consequences of the actions of men and women? Those who have sold wild oats are reaping it today. Although people are seeing the effects of the action, yet they are complaining because they are seeing much more than what they bargained for.
Listen to the news on the T.V. or on the radio, you will discover that it is dominated by news of accidents, mishaps, crime, death, bankruptcy, failure and destruction. The reason is not far-fetched. People have gone into actions which have brought the wrath of God upon their lives. That is why everything has a tincture cf woe in them.
Take up a daily newspaper and you will discover that there is lots of bad news in it. Again, this goes on to tell you that there are lots of woes in the daily affairs of men and women. Unfortunately, modern technology has turned the world into a small global village. Whenever anything happens many years ago, it could take three days for the information to go round the world, but today let something happen in Asia, America, Europe, or Africa and it will be televised for the whole world to see immediately it is happening.
Those who have access to television stations that carry global news, often get tired of watching terrible and heart-rending news of what is happening throughout the globe. No doubt, these woes and calamities are consequences of the actions of men and women. If you watched the news of the wars in Croatia, Liberia, Flakland Islands, Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone etc., you will discover that, indeed, woe has been pronounced upon the world.
Many years ago, I came face to face with a very pathetic and disheartening situation (when I was working as a lecturer at the college of medicine). I used to notice a particular ward in the hospital, the children’s ward. It was always a troubled spot. Parents who were grieving over the death of their children were wailing and crying. That is clearly another manifestation of the pronouncement of woes upon the world. Some parents are bewildered and confused when they discover that children, who were once well behaved, lawful, and obedient, suddenly become unruly, stubborn and incorrigible.
People have watched their dear ones die like rats. Mothers have seen their beloved children go into drug addiction. Children watch helplessly when their father comes home drunk every night. Men and women go through traumatic experiences when their families become disintegrated and fall apart. Innocent children watch mummy and daddy injure themselves in a terrible fight. Little children experience untold agony and psychological torture as they see their parents separate.
A sister narrated a story which has remained a challenging testimony to what the power of God can do. She actually received her miracle during our first anointing service. There was a particular strange woman who has been visiting their home at the behest of her unfaithful husband. The woman went home after the anointing service believing God for a change in her home. Previously and in his characteristic manner, the woman’s husband brought a woman home. Somehow, it turned out that when the bell rang the sister was the one who went to the visitor. When she discovered that it was a strange woman, she still decided to inform the husband. The husband then asked his concubine to come inside the house.
The man was so bold that he asked his wife to sleep in their living room while he took the stranger into their bedroom. The strange woman decided to have a nice time with somebody else’s husband. However, the sister kept her cool. In fact, she told me, “I would have broken the woman’s head with a bottle but for what you have taught us on, brokenness. However, I decided to allow God to fight on my behalf. Somehow, nothing happened.”
The husband decided to bring another woman home. Along the line, the wife had to call the husband to order asking him to stop such dirty affairs with strange women. The man simply said: “It is a matter of style. That’s just my own style. I like it that way. You can decide to quit if you are not ready to cope with my own style”. The wife, therefore, decided to go beyond the realm of decision. She anointed the bed and began to wait for a miraculous intervention.
By the time the man attempted to bring in another woman, God had already taken control of the situation. The husband chased his wife out of the bedroom as usual and took his concubine inside. They had barely spent one hour when a fight broke out. It was such a serious fight that broken bottles were used by the man and his concubine. It took the intervention of the wife to prevent them from killing each other. At last, she succeeded in separating them.
The strange woman eyed the man in a disdainful manner, hissed and said: “You are a foolish man. How can you have such a good wife at home and you go about doing all kind of rubbish?”, as if she was not part of the rubbish.
Strange things happen on planet earth. A pregnant woman went to one of our members’ house to narrate a strange experience. She came to the house of our member because she needed help. Immediately she stated the nature of her problem, the member wisely asked her to head towards the church immediately. What was that woman’s problem? There was a discussion going on in her womb. If you actually put your ears very close to her stomach, you will hear real discussion going on. The questions anyone would like to ask are, how can a baby in the womb speak? If it was a conversation, who was the baby talking with? If you were in that woman’s shoe, how would you carry such a pregnancy? Indeed, woe has been pronounced upon the world.
Another incident took place in Lagos, Nigeria, recently. Two young boys were playing on the street. A middle-aged man placed his hands on one of the boys. Then, something strange happened. The boy was turned into a tuber of a yarn which the man took and put it in his bag. However, the second boy who witnessed the evil transformation happened to be very intelligent. He decided to raise an alarm which attracted neighbors and passersby. The boy refused to keep quiet.
Soon, a crowd had gathered to find out what the boy was really saying. They asked the boy: “What are you saying?” Then he answered: “My friend is inside this bag. Yes, he is there. This yam is my friend. Yes. This is my friend.” The boy kept on shouting uncontrollably. The crowd prevailed on the man, telling him that there must be a grain of truth in what the young boy was saying. They told the man to cut the yam if he was sure that it is an ordinary yam. The man had no option but to slice off part of the yam with his knife. The crowd rushed backwards when they saw that blood started oozing out of the tuber of a yam. The crowd held the man and threatened him to lynch him unless he turns the yam back to a human being. The man complied, and he succeeded in turning the tuber of a yam into a small boy who happened to be the boy’s friend. Unfortunately, the ear of the boy had been sliced off. What a strange occurrence!
Why are terrible things happening in the world? Why is woe pronounced in every phase of human Endeavour? The answer can be found in Revelation 12:7.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels.
This passage explains why there are problems in the world. The Bible says that there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels of God fought against satan and his angels. Since that time, man has never had any rest.
Many of us expect satan and his agents to fold their arms. That is nothing but wishful thinking. Satan and the demons will always fight back. How can you fire real bullets against the devil and expect him to come against you with a toy gun? There is a fight between God’s people and the devil. That is why the devil has decided to fight like a wounded lion. That explains why satan and his agents are fighting people in real life and in the realm of dreams. No doubts, satanic agents will fight against you but the Bible has given you an unfailing promise: “They shall not prevail against you.”
Let us examine verses 8-9:
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Then the heavens began to rejoice. Let us also look at verse 12:
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
These three verses have given us a clue concerning the source of all the terrible problems which mankind has been going through from the beginning of the world. Satan was excommunicated from heaven and he came down to the earth. When satan came into the world, woe came down with him. That was how woe has continued to befall mankind.
The devil came down with a great wrath. He knows that he has lost his position in heaven. He is angry but he cannot show any anger towards God. He can only vent the anger by attacking men and women.
The devil is conscious of the fact that he has a very short time. He also knows that he will soon be punished eternally in the lake of fire. That is why he has decided to use his free time to destroy and attack human beings. Unfortunately, the devil has lots of wicked weapons which he has vowed to try out on men and women within the short time that he still has.
Does that explain why human beings killed six million jews at a time in gas ovens?
Does that explain why a woman should go to the market only to find a human head in her basket by the time she got home?
Can you now understand why we have had a Jesus of Ikot Ekpene and Jesus of Oyingbo. These self-styled Messiahs actually succeeded in deceiving thousands of people. These and other things have happened in the world because the devil has decided to destroy as many people as possible.
Recently, a man was brought to me because something strange happened to him. When the story was narrated to me, I opened my mouth wide. Family members dragged the man to me because they were confused. According to them, the man had raped his two daughters. When I asked him what went wrong with him, his answer was, “I don’t know. I don’t know what got into me. I don’t think I am normal.” In any case, I know that he is one of Satan’s victims. The devil simply decided to do overtime in his family.
Another case was brought to me. It was a very disturbing case. A man and a woman were wheeled, in a wheelbarrow to the Church. A crowd followed them. When I asked to know what had happened,
I was told that the man was glued to the woman. They had made every effort to separate the two of them, but all their efforts had proved abortive. I decided to help. I had to ask the man: “Why did you decide to get into this mess? I am told that you have six wives at home. Why must you go out to get this other woman who has now brought the attention of the whole community upon you?”
The man simply said: “I don’t know”. Although I prayed for him, and the two sin partners, who were glued to themselves, were separated, the man could not cope with the shame of the scandal. He committed suicide two weeks later by hanging himself with his belt. That was how he became another victim of satanic wickedness.
“Woe on to the inhabitants of the earth. For the devil has come unto you in great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.” However, I have made up my mind that no matter what the devil tries to do, I will not be one of his victims. The wicked weapons of the devil will not prosper in my life.
A thirteen-year-old boy was brought to me. I was told that the boy took a rifle, shot his little brother, then went ahead and shot his parents. When I asked the boy why he allowed himself to be an instrument of such a great wickedness, he told me that he only heard a voice which told him to shoot his brother together with his father and his mother.
Another man was brought to me because his relatives did not understand why he had behaved as if he was mad. The man had also taken up a gun, headed toward the market place and shot as many people as he could. Again, I tried to find out why he decided to commit multiple manslaughter. His answer was strange. “I killed those people because I felt something crawling like a snake in my heart. That strange object compelled me to go to the market and kill as many as possible.”
I came across another strange case when I visited a prison in England, in an attempt to share the Gospel with the inmates. There was a particular boy, who drew my attention. He was very handsome and sounded so Intelligent that I wondered why he ever came into the prison. I decided to engage him in a discussion. “How many years is your jail term?” “25 years”,he replied. “What did you do?” I asked him. He then reluctantly told me:” I was charged for rape”. I went ahead to ask more questions:”How old are you?” “I am 22years”, he said. “How old is the woman you raped?” “Well, she is 75 years old”, he answered.
Then I asked him: “What is wrong with you? Didn’t you have a girl friend? What made you rape a 75 years-old woman? Somebody old enough to be your grandmother?” Again his answer was, “I don’t know. Something made me to do it”. Without doubt, he was one of the people to whom the devil has come with a great wrath.
Samson’s birth was miraculous. An angel announced his birth. God anointed him and called him into a special assignment. Suddenly, he began to go astray. He started playing around with his call. Eventually, he lost a glorious opportunity. He wasted his life.
Why don’t you close your eyes right now and take this prayer point?
I shall not waste my life and the devil shall not waste my life, in the name of Jesus.
Death is inevitable either for the Christian or for the unbeliever, For the Christian, death is the door that leads to heaven, while for the unbeliever, death is a bottomless pit that leads to spending eternity in the lake of fire. Men hate death and they try to ignore it. However, the appointment with death must be kept by all.
People fear death because they don’t know where they are going.
The second reason why people fear death is because of the fear of the unknown. Whenever death comes knocking at the door of the unbeliever, he has nothing to say. But if death comes to the believer, the believer would simply say: “My death, I am not ready for you now. I have lots of things to do for the Lord. My matching order from the Lord, is that I shall not die but live to declare the glory of God.” Without doubt, death will honour the words of a believer who knows what he is doing. If there is any Christian who runs about carelessly, death will grab such a person.
I want you to close your eyes and pray once again: Here is the prayer point.
My hands and my legs shall serve the living God, in the name of Jesus.
One of the greatest tragedies that can happen to a man is for him not to know what he is doing with his life. The Bible says,
To everything there is a season and time to every purpose under the heaven (Eccl 12:1)
This passage shows us that God has apportioned different seasons for different things. The moment a particular season passes, and the opportunity is lost.
This passage tells us that whatever purpose we have to achieve on earth, God has given each of us a time limit, once that time limit is gone, the opportunity is lost and that life is wasted.
The devil knows that God has given each of us a specified time to achieve our goals in life. That is why he wants to keep as many people as possible in ignorance. His purpose is to prevent people from fulfilling God’s assignment for their lives.
I want you to read this sober words. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heave. A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck that up that is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away. A time to rend and a time to sew. A time to keep silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate, a time of war and a time of peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
Nobody can read these words and not do a rethink on how he or she is spending his or her life on earth.
The children of Israel wasted their lives. They decided to do a merry-go-round at Kadesh Barnea. A journey which should have taken them three weeks, took forty years. That is why we must always examine ourselves.
We must number our days because time is running out. The devil has a short time which he has made up his mind to use in disturbing countless number of lives. On the other hand, you must make use of every good opportunity given to you by God. Every spiritual opportunity that is lost can never be regained again. That is why God sometimes give people a very long rope. Whenever such people miss their opportunity, they would have nobody but themselves to blame.
If God has given you a long rope, asking you to move up higher, if you continue to turn deaf ears to what He is saying, He may push you aside and call another person to take your place.
I am sure you know the story of Esau. He sold his birthright and lost his chance. The five foolish virgins also lost their opportunities.
You must wake up today. God’s appointed time may be over any moment from now. Once the door of opportunity is closed, there will be no second chance.
If you decide to sleep on the bed of procrastination, you will wake up to find yourself where you don’t want. A man who decides not to bring out his bucket when it is raining and goes ahead to complain that he has no water after it has stopped raining, is surely, a foolish man. It is better not to have been born than to die a sinner. Your birth is a great opportunity. It is a beginning from which there is no returning. You must, therefore, make use of your opportunity.
Life’s journey commences at birth but does not end there. You start your journey on earth but you do not end it there. That is why Jesus said: “Then Son of man goeth as it is written of Him”. You are on a journey. Every day leads you to a point of no return. You must go somewhere; either heaven or hell. Hell has been provided for those who do not want to go to heaven, while heaven has been provided for those who know what they are doing.
What you have read so far, will either condemn or commend you in eternity. You have to decide today. What are you going to do with your life? Waste it or use it to the glory of God? The choice is yours.
PRAYER POINTS
1. The enemy shall not have the last laugh over my life, in the name of Jesus.
2. I bind, every spirit of ‘almost there’ in the name of Jesus.
3. I must make heaven, whether the devil likes it or not, in the name of Jesus.
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